Currently, ESD protection can be provided by coupling a ballasting resistor in series to an output of a driving device to limit the electrostatic current flowing to the driving device and increase the triggering electrostatic voltage of the driving device, thereby preventing the driving device from being damaged due to being triggered by the electrostatic charges. However, ESD protection methods in which a ballasting resistor is coupled in series to an output of a driving device can reduce the driving capacity of the driving circuit. Also, in many application products, the ballasting resistor may not be allowed to be arranged at the output of the driving circuit. Such products can include low-output-impedance application products.
In another existing ESD protection method, a silicide block mask can be applied to the driving device, thus, a serially coupled resistor can be embedded at the drain of the driver to perform self-protection. However, use of the silicide block can increase complexity of the fabrication process, as well as cost of the mask and the fabrication process. Also, spacing between the drain contact hole and the gate of the driving device may have to be enlarged, which can increase the size of the driving device resulting in larger layout areas of the driving device.